


Anata

by Aarri



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bilingual McCree, Even if he doesn't say anything other than in English oops, Hanzo is a sap but won't admit it, Idiots in Love, M/M, Nicknames, Pet Names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 06:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7303408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aarri/pseuds/Aarri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanzo uses a term of endearment, McCree is confused, and Genji is just about the least helpful walking Japanese dictionary alive.<br/>Based on my favorite headcanon that Hanzo’s only nickname for Jesse is “anata.”<br/>(A/N: I do, in fact, speak, read, and write Japanese so I sincerely hope all of my grammar and research is correct. If not, please correct me!)<br/>EDIT: Holy scatter arrow, Hanzo! I can't believe we're up to over a thousand kudos. Thank you all so much for your support! :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anata

The first time Jesse heard it, he did a double-take.

“What did you jus’ call me?”

“Forget I said anything,” Hanzo said quickly, turning away, stuffing his retrieved arrows back into his quiver after wiping the remaining blood off. McCree, however, had other plans, and ducked into Hanzo’s field of vision, which the _rōnin_ emphatically ignored.

“No, no, I’m serious, darlin’! I want to know. Honest,” the cowboy pressed, what he believed was his most winning smile directed in full force at his...boyfriend? Lover? They'd decided not to be quick to stamp terms neither wanted on their pseudo-relationship, and so it had remained an unturned stone.

Now though, things were becoming more and better defined, it seemed.

Hanzo looked away once more, and for an instant McCree was positive he glimpsed color high on the other man’s cheekbones.

“ _Anata_ ,” he repeated slowly, before marching away, leaving Jesse in his wake, no wiser than when he had begun his interrogation.

\---

“All right, Genji, hear me out,” McCree said some time later, after tossing another log onto the fire that illuminated only the barest shapes that made up their camp. The shower of sparks that followed glinted off of Genji’s metal features, and he fixed the other with an attentive stare. 

They were staked out just outside Hanamura, where Athena had begun picking up increasing amounts of Talon activity. Overwatch command hadn't wanted to send a full scale force until things could be assessed for certain, so Soldier: 76 had decided that a scouting party would be of little consequence, at least until they landed balls-deep in shit again.

“I am listening,” came the quiet reply, and McCree took a drag of his cigar before glancing over one shoulder to ensure that Hana and Lúcio were sound asleep in their respective tents.

“Okay, so hypothetically, what in the heck does ‘ _anata_ ’ mean?”

There was a brief pause as the _ninja_ calculated his next statement.

“This is not mere curiosity, if I am correct,” he remarked, looking to McCree for affirmation. The other man merely shrugged.

“Hard to say. We're in Japan, and...well, y’hear it tossed around sometimes.” Jesse hastily attempted to steer the theoretical train of their conversation back to the right set of tracks -- God only knew he’d had enough of hijacking trains to see him through to the end of his days.

“I see.” Genji steepled his fingers, the fire giving a dull orange glow to his figure. Jesse suspected that if he had been able to see the younger Shimada’s face, he would have masked his knowing look quickly enough to pass it off as curiosity.

“If you must know, _anata_ is an informal term for ‘you.’ It is not...tossed around,” he paused, gauging the cowboy’s reaction, “but it is sometimes used in situations where one does not know another’s name, to avoid coming across as rude.”

“Oh.” McCree fiddled with the lock on one pistol, in an attempt to hide his seemingly prolonged confusion. “Well, uh. Thanks.”

Genji merely inclined his head, before rising silently and retreating to his own tent for the night, leaving a mystified Jesse McCree in his wake.

\---

Now, however, McCree was getting desperate.

Being bilingual himself, he didn't much let Hanzo’s own linguistic abilities bother him. If either had something they didn't want the other to hear, it came out in Spanish or Japanese, which suited both just fine.

Or, rather, it would have if Hanzo hadn't realized how much his continued usage of the same bafflingly simple (yet utterly confusing) phrase got under Jesse’s skin. As if on cue, the moment he realized that McCree had no way of knowing the implication behind his words, he found small, secluded moments to slip it into conversation -- though, oddly enough, they always seemed to be alone when it happened. At least, that was how it seemed.

They lay together one chilly afternoon, which had left frost creeping up the window panes of the Overwatch headquarters and even the bravest of recruits ducking for the safety of artificial heating, when Jesse finally decided enough was enough.

They were still in a haze of post-coital bliss, Hanzo tucked against McCree’s chest almost like a cat, which had somehow stopped hissing long enough to allow a friendly face to dote on it, or at least in this case wrap one strong arm around it and trace small circles idly across its back. Hanzo reached up to kiss the taller man, movements almost embarrassingly loose and languid for a man who prided himself in all other ways on his discipline and stringent attitude toward the world, and himself.

“ _Anata_ , _issho ni ireba_ , _ureshii yo_ ,” he breathed, the ghost of the words imprinting themselves on Jesse’s lips as they parted, and he propped himself up on his elbows to fix Hanzo with his best incriminating stare.

“Aight, time to ‘fess up. Y’ever gonna tell me what that means, sweetheart?” He could feel Hanzo stiffen against his chest and move to roll over, but merely tightened his hold. “I’m only curious, y’know. I won't hold it against you -- even if it's somethin’ ridiculous, though I'm not entirely sure what could be so bad about sayin’ ‘you.’”

Hanzo exhaled in a long, silent sigh. “I see that you have done at least half of your homework, so to speak. I should have expected as much.” He held McCree’s gaze briefly before looking away again, his face flooding with color.

“Where I come from, it is a term of endearment used among...more traditional couples. Much like your ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart,’ as it were.”

“Well, I don' see what's so bad about--!”

“I am not finished,” Hanzo interrupted, silencing him with one hand. “I...I was reluctant to say something, because it is...something of an embarrassment for me. _Anata_ is...traditionally only used when wives speak to their husbands.” He shifted uncomfortably, expression unreadable from McCree’s angle. “However...I thought it appropriate, considering the alternatives.”

Jesse was stunned into silence for a time, feeling a slow, steady warmth blooming in his chest which hadn't been present in a long time. 

He rolled onto one side, gently turning Hanzo to face him, metal thumb brushing his cheek gently before he captured his lips in a kiss that could only have made him go weak at the knees, had they been upright.

“Hanzo, I don't care what you call me, as long as you'll have me,” he said softly, watching as the _rōnin_ ’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. “‘Sides, it's only fair you have at least one name for me, since I'm shootin’ my mouth off callin’ you God-only-knows-what all day.”

He was met with a wry smile.

“I suppose we can agree there.” Hanzo pulled himself upright to straddle McCree, ghosting touches sending shivers down his spine.

“Careful, love. You sure you wanna open that door again?” Jesse half-joked, though his partner’s stamina often surprised him. He made a face after a moment, however. “Guess I shouldn't steal that one from Lena, huh?”

Hanzo leaned down to press a kiss to the juncture between his jaw and neck, and smiled, his next words barely more than a whisper. “I think ‘darling’ suits me just fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Update 10/25/17: Holy jeez, I've never been more flattered as a writer in my life. To have received over 1000 kudos on a silly oneshot I penned on Google Docs at 4 AM the morning before I posted this is absolutely outrageous and I want to thank every single one of you for taking the time to read my writing. <3 You're all an inspiration to me, and I hope you enjoy my next set of McHanzo works, if and when they are ever published!
> 
> A/N: あなた (anata), lit. “you,” can also mean “dear” or “darling,” usually among older couples. It is normally only heard when a wife speaks to a husband, e.g.「あなた、お茶があるよ。」 (“Dear, there’s tea here.”) For the sake of this fic (and my headcanon), since there aren't really any totally gender neutral terms of endearment in Japanese, I elected for anata over koishii or kimi, the former of which has implications much like anata and the latter of which is sometimes used when husbands speak to wives. Hanzo’s a big sap.
> 
> “Anata, issho ni ireba, ureshii yo.”/「あなた、いっしょにいれば、嬉しいよ。」 Lit. “Darling, if I'm (here) with you, I'm happy.”


End file.
